JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An outbreak of deadly bird flu in Israel is God's punishment for calls in election ads to legalize gay marriages, according to Rabbi David Basri, a prominent sage preaching Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism.

"The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people," Basri said in a religious edict quoted by his son.

Basri said he hoped the deaths of hundreds of thousands of turkeys and chickens would help atone for what he called the sins of left-wing Israeli political parties, the son, Rabbi Yitzhak Basri, told Reuters, a week before a national election.

The bird flu outbreak stemmed from far-left political parties "strengthening and encouraging homosexuality," Rabbi Basri's son quoted him as saying.

And don't restrict this to religious beliefs. Some have suggested that things like Katrina are a result of our failure to address "global warming".

Sign Kyoto or die!

yes, but science is awfully more compelling an explanation for the increase in the strength of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico due to increasing ocean temperatures than scripture is at explaining bird flu.